Around 2 p.m. on December 8, a 30-year-old, female hiker in Ontario’s Frontenac Provincial Park slipped and fell down an embankment hitting her leg against a rock. She was navigating the Slide Lake Loop, a 21-kilometre trek through the park, with three other hikers.
“Slide Lake Loop is considered a challenging hiking trail with some hazards,” said OPP Constable Robert Martell, in an email.
The other hikers contacted emergency services, and the South Frontenac Fire Rescue service was the first to respond. The fire rescue personnel located the hikers by using the What 3 Words app, which divides the world into 57 trillion squares, each three metres by three metres, and assigns a unique three-word address to each square. The app helps emergency services zone in on exact locations, especially ones that don’t have traditional addresses.
Once they arrived on scene, a paramedic firefighter assessed the injury. It was believed that the hiker had injured the lower part of her leg, breaking either her tibia, fibula, or both. The plan was to transport the hiker to the nearest hospital, but the group was approximately seven kilometres from the closest trailhead. Fire rescue personnel determined that it was too far to carry her. Plus, weather, trail, and light conditions were deteriorating making it harder to evacuate the hiker.
What three words can save your life?
Instead, fire rescue contacted the Ontario Provincial Police for air support. The OPP got in touch with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton organizing a search and rescue helicopter. The helicopter airlifted the hiker to Kingston General Hospital, arriving around 9 p.m. From the time the hiker was injured, it took approximately seven hours before she arrived at the hospital.
For anyone going hiking, especially on long or treacherous trails, Martell has several recommendations in case you encounter an emergency:
- Bring a fully charged cell phone with a back-up battery
- Download the What 3 Words app to help emergency services locate you
- Don’t hike alone
- Be familiar with the trail and carry a map
- Tell someone your location, start time, expected end time, parking location, and hiking plan
- Be aware of the weather forecast for the entire day
- Stick to trails and conditions that suit your ability
- Carry first aid supplies
- Be prepared to use some survival skills if you have to spend the night in the bush
- And be aware that rescuers take time to assemble and locate you, so be prepared with extra food and water
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